Well, it somehow happened after years of toil, studying and yes even tears... the birth of a midwife occurred. I graduated and passed my board examination!
I also went on an amazing trip to Tanzania, Africa... I am beginning to write about that experience in my new blog: Midwife Moments.
Feel free to read about it there.
Friday, January 25, 2013
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Between Terms
My intrapartum term is over. I had the privilege of having 15 babies pass through my hands as they entered the world: 10 boys and 5 girls... It was a blessing to be at each birth... the mother's were strong and determined and the babies so new and precious. I love it when the dad cries at the births!
My hands have stopped shaking when I do repairs! Yay! My preceptor said to me in the middle of a repair: "I'm so glad you gave up shaking." I hadn't even realized it, but, YES.. I gave up shaking! :)
I have 3 weeks off then I start my final integration semester.
I have exciting news! I have made the decision to go and do a midwifery internship in Tanzania, Africa after my graduation! I will be leaving the end of December and since it will be after my graduation I will be considered a qualified provider and will get tons of hands on experience and do deliveries and really be helpful to this understaffed, under resourced and overwhelmed area of the world. I am both excited and scared... It is Africa! Where there is malaria and yellow fever and lions and a lot of other stuff that makes me wonder why I even considered this... I don't even like to go camping!!! But after I start working in a practice as a midwife it will never be this easy to pack up and go to Africa again... and I think I can really gain a lot of confidence and experience working with limited resources and handling emergencies... Women there rarely get adequate prenatal care and present in labor with many issues... grand-multiparity, preeclampsia or even eclamptic seizures...
My family is very supportive... My son keeps me informed of all of the exotic bacterial diseases to be on the look out for...
Anyway... one more semester.. then Africa... then boards and I am a midwife! It is so close! :)
My hands have stopped shaking when I do repairs! Yay! My preceptor said to me in the middle of a repair: "I'm so glad you gave up shaking." I hadn't even realized it, but, YES.. I gave up shaking! :)
I have 3 weeks off then I start my final integration semester.
I have exciting news! I have made the decision to go and do a midwifery internship in Tanzania, Africa after my graduation! I will be leaving the end of December and since it will be after my graduation I will be considered a qualified provider and will get tons of hands on experience and do deliveries and really be helpful to this understaffed, under resourced and overwhelmed area of the world. I am both excited and scared... It is Africa! Where there is malaria and yellow fever and lions and a lot of other stuff that makes me wonder why I even considered this... I don't even like to go camping!!! But after I start working in a practice as a midwife it will never be this easy to pack up and go to Africa again... and I think I can really gain a lot of confidence and experience working with limited resources and handling emergencies... Women there rarely get adequate prenatal care and present in labor with many issues... grand-multiparity, preeclampsia or even eclamptic seizures...
My family is very supportive... My son keeps me informed of all of the exotic bacterial diseases to be on the look out for...
Anyway... one more semester.. then Africa... then boards and I am a midwife! It is so close! :)
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Catching Babies
Well, here I am in the thick of it! I am delivering babies! I can barely believe it.... But, I have had the wonderful honor of catching 5 babies in the last 2 weeks. How does it feel? It makes me scared to death... to tell you the truth. First off, I have my preceptor there and if there is anything high-risk going on the Dr. is there too, staring at me... watching my every move... Don't get me wrong.. I wouldn't want in any other way right now.. but it is a bit nerve wracking! They give me good feedback and I've learned the proper hand positions.. how to support the perineum... only one first degree laceration and another superficial labial laceration to repair so far! The suturing is a skill I'm still mastering... At my last delivery I felt relatively calm but my hands were shaking - Badly. I was trying to steady them so I can suture the superficial lac with the curved needle.. but let me tell you it was not easy.... Between the mother's post delivery shakes and my new midwife shakes.. we were a sight to behold.. :) I feel like I am truly where I belong when I am working in labor and delivery. I like the office visits, too.... but the delivery rooms are my true comfort zone.
It's been so long since I've posted... I don't think I've wrote about my antepartum/gynecology clinicals.. they were all office visits... anything from a teenager wanting birth control/STI testing to a post menopausal woman with bleeding or menopause symptoms along with normal ob prenatal visits mixed in (my favorite). It took quite a few times of doing speculum exams to be able to even find the cervix with the darn things! I felt like asking if I couldn't just do the pap smear by locating the cervix with my fingers.. I knew I could do that! :) You wouldn't think it would be that hard.. The cervix is the only thing in there, afterall... But, NO, it is difficult... But, I am now comfortable doing speculum exams, thank goodness!
So, all in all, it is going well. I graduate in December..That seems too early! But, I am doing everything my school and preceptors say I should be doing.. So, I'm going to just trust that process and believe I will be ready to graduate in December.... To tell you the truth, I like having a preceptor... They send me in with the patient and I come out and discuss the plan of care with the preceptor and tell them what I think we should do and bounce ideas off of them... then I implement it... I like that process... I think it will be way different when I have to make the decisions alone. I wish I had a "Life Preceptor." :)
I have already sent out two resumes... I am anxious to hear back if I can have an interview. I am nervous as well. But, December will be here before I know it and then I will have to repay my student loans.. So, I need to have gainful employment... Cross your fingers for me!
It's been so long since I've posted... I don't think I've wrote about my antepartum/gynecology clinicals.. they were all office visits... anything from a teenager wanting birth control/STI testing to a post menopausal woman with bleeding or menopause symptoms along with normal ob prenatal visits mixed in (my favorite). It took quite a few times of doing speculum exams to be able to even find the cervix with the darn things! I felt like asking if I couldn't just do the pap smear by locating the cervix with my fingers.. I knew I could do that! :) You wouldn't think it would be that hard.. The cervix is the only thing in there, afterall... But, NO, it is difficult... But, I am now comfortable doing speculum exams, thank goodness!
So, all in all, it is going well. I graduate in December..That seems too early! But, I am doing everything my school and preceptors say I should be doing.. So, I'm going to just trust that process and believe I will be ready to graduate in December.... To tell you the truth, I like having a preceptor... They send me in with the patient and I come out and discuss the plan of care with the preceptor and tell them what I think we should do and bounce ideas off of them... then I implement it... I like that process... I think it will be way different when I have to make the decisions alone. I wish I had a "Life Preceptor." :)
I have already sent out two resumes... I am anxious to hear back if I can have an interview. I am nervous as well. But, December will be here before I know it and then I will have to repay my student loans.. So, I need to have gainful employment... Cross your fingers for me!
Friday, January 27, 2012
Clinicals
I am now half way through my graduate program. And, with that starts clinicals. While I do not feel I know half as much as is necessary to become a midwife, I believe my learning will grow exponentially during my clinical training because I am a hands on learner. I learn by doing - and by doing things wrong... I learn from mistakes.
The program I am completing is designed to have all of our preliminary classes like pathophysiology, research, statistics, ect. done at this point. Now we begin the meat and potatoes as I call it. Classes on women's health and pregnancy and labor... what I really am excited to learn.... All while I'm attending clinicals now, too... So, with all of that going on, I've decided to go part time at my place of employment as of January 1st. It is a challenge financially... But is a blessing to be able to do it. I do not feel overwhelmed. I am completing my course work and my clinical work on time... But, never early. I am always doing work for school... So, I do have doubts whether I would have been able to do this without cutting back at work. In March my clinical hours more than double what they are now.. So, we will see if I will be able to continue working then. I sure hope I can. But am not sure. We will see when we get there, I suppose.
I put a lot of thought into choosing the place I wanted to do my clinicals at. It is a large hospital with several midwives... a two hour drive, one way for me. But, it was what I thought was best for my learning experience... But, when it was time for my clinicals to start, the contract was not worked out between my school and the large hospital. It came down to the very last day... I either had to drop my classes for the term and wait until next term when the contract was able to be worked out or I had to come up with another preceptor willing to take me - one who already had an existing contract with my school. I had been given the name of a clinic that had an existing contract with my school... and I had made telephone calls and sent emails to the clinic... all to no avail...
It was the day before I had to drop my courses and I just couldn't sit and do nothing. So, my dear husband took the day off of work and drove me 3 hours to the clinic in a major city. I prayed several times on the way down and when I walked into the clinic, I know God walked in with me.... Because the nurse practitioner who was working at the clinic that day smiled at me and when I explained who I was and my situation, she was very receptive and willing to help me out. She asked when I started my clinical hours and I said, "This week... well, actually last week. I can be here Thursday." She chuckled and filled out all of the necessary paperwork and faxed it to my school the next day... It was a blessing, indeed.
Well, the clinic I am doing my first rotation at is actually perfect. Our first rotation is focused on "Primary Care." General illnesses like sinusitis, bronchitis, etc. All the things someone may come to an ob appt and say to their midwife, "Oh, by the way, I think I have a sinus infection." And all of the illnesses a midwife has to co-manage because the women is not just pregnant, she is human. For example, asthma, thyroid issues and migraines.
So, It is a walk in clinic in a major city. Anyone can come in with anything.. and believe me, they do! My biggest source of discomfort going into this clinic was working with men. Since I graduated from Nursing school, I went straight to maternity. I've never had to work with men. And, the one ailment I hate dealing with the most is a skin rash. So, guess who was my first patient? A man with a skin rash. God is funny! It was like he was saying... Here you go. Tackle your worst fear first.. then it will be all down hill. :)
I've been really learning a ton! It took me a while to be able to do little things like successfully locating the tympanic membrane.... No, it's not a straight shot in, like I thought! But, I'm progressing and the last day I was there I successfully diagnosed a few patients and even selected the correct medications for them. My preceptor is a good teacher. She asks me questions right in front of the patient. Asks me to tell her what medications would work best on the patient and why. It really puts the pressure on me to know "my stuff." I am glad. This is a great way for me to learn.
So, life is crazy. But, I am ok with that because I have a feeling someone is looking out for me and it will all be over soon!
The program I am completing is designed to have all of our preliminary classes like pathophysiology, research, statistics, ect. done at this point. Now we begin the meat and potatoes as I call it. Classes on women's health and pregnancy and labor... what I really am excited to learn.... All while I'm attending clinicals now, too... So, with all of that going on, I've decided to go part time at my place of employment as of January 1st. It is a challenge financially... But is a blessing to be able to do it. I do not feel overwhelmed. I am completing my course work and my clinical work on time... But, never early. I am always doing work for school... So, I do have doubts whether I would have been able to do this without cutting back at work. In March my clinical hours more than double what they are now.. So, we will see if I will be able to continue working then. I sure hope I can. But am not sure. We will see when we get there, I suppose.
I put a lot of thought into choosing the place I wanted to do my clinicals at. It is a large hospital with several midwives... a two hour drive, one way for me. But, it was what I thought was best for my learning experience... But, when it was time for my clinicals to start, the contract was not worked out between my school and the large hospital. It came down to the very last day... I either had to drop my classes for the term and wait until next term when the contract was able to be worked out or I had to come up with another preceptor willing to take me - one who already had an existing contract with my school. I had been given the name of a clinic that had an existing contract with my school... and I had made telephone calls and sent emails to the clinic... all to no avail...
It was the day before I had to drop my courses and I just couldn't sit and do nothing. So, my dear husband took the day off of work and drove me 3 hours to the clinic in a major city. I prayed several times on the way down and when I walked into the clinic, I know God walked in with me.... Because the nurse practitioner who was working at the clinic that day smiled at me and when I explained who I was and my situation, she was very receptive and willing to help me out. She asked when I started my clinical hours and I said, "This week... well, actually last week. I can be here Thursday." She chuckled and filled out all of the necessary paperwork and faxed it to my school the next day... It was a blessing, indeed.
Well, the clinic I am doing my first rotation at is actually perfect. Our first rotation is focused on "Primary Care." General illnesses like sinusitis, bronchitis, etc. All the things someone may come to an ob appt and say to their midwife, "Oh, by the way, I think I have a sinus infection." And all of the illnesses a midwife has to co-manage because the women is not just pregnant, she is human. For example, asthma, thyroid issues and migraines.
So, It is a walk in clinic in a major city. Anyone can come in with anything.. and believe me, they do! My biggest source of discomfort going into this clinic was working with men. Since I graduated from Nursing school, I went straight to maternity. I've never had to work with men. And, the one ailment I hate dealing with the most is a skin rash. So, guess who was my first patient? A man with a skin rash. God is funny! It was like he was saying... Here you go. Tackle your worst fear first.. then it will be all down hill. :)
I've been really learning a ton! It took me a while to be able to do little things like successfully locating the tympanic membrane.... No, it's not a straight shot in, like I thought! But, I'm progressing and the last day I was there I successfully diagnosed a few patients and even selected the correct medications for them. My preceptor is a good teacher. She asks me questions right in front of the patient. Asks me to tell her what medications would work best on the patient and why. It really puts the pressure on me to know "my stuff." I am glad. This is a great way for me to learn.
So, life is crazy. But, I am ok with that because I have a feeling someone is looking out for me and it will all be over soon!
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
You can teach an old nurse new tricks
So, I'm on my third new nurse to precept now. My first night with her was last night... She comes from a state many states away from us... she used to work in a large hospital where they moved people through in an assembly line type fashion.. In the door, epidural in, pit going, baby out.. moved to post partum... next patient... She also typically cared for 2 laboring patients at a time. Well, we have the luxury most nights of having one-on-one nursing care for our laboring mothers.
When we came on our shift we were assigned to a woman who was 8cms. She had no pitocin and no epidural. So, I told my preceptee that we would be getting the woman out of bed and in some type of water... it could be the jacuzzi tub or the shower.. whatever.. no woman should have to do transition without an epidural OUT of the water... In my opinion... The new nurse was astounded... First of all when I suggested we get her out of bed to urinate she couldn't believe it... She said they never would have done that... Let alone get her out of bed to take a long hot shower... Well, we did it... we got mom in the shower and she was LOVING it....
This nurse who had been a L&D nurse for several years (in the teens) said she felt like a new nurse on the job last night... She said she never stayed with her patients in labor... we stayed in the bathroom with her spraying her back with hot water and massaging her .... She couldn't believe the way we practiced nursing.... And, when I went to get the patient in hands and knees she said to me she has NEVER had a patient in that position. Ever. In that many years of nursing. Wow...
Well, I guess she learned a few new tricks from this younger nurse last night... Nice healthy 9 pound baby born direct OP!
When we came on our shift we were assigned to a woman who was 8cms. She had no pitocin and no epidural. So, I told my preceptee that we would be getting the woman out of bed and in some type of water... it could be the jacuzzi tub or the shower.. whatever.. no woman should have to do transition without an epidural OUT of the water... In my opinion... The new nurse was astounded... First of all when I suggested we get her out of bed to urinate she couldn't believe it... She said they never would have done that... Let alone get her out of bed to take a long hot shower... Well, we did it... we got mom in the shower and she was LOVING it....
This nurse who had been a L&D nurse for several years (in the teens) said she felt like a new nurse on the job last night... She said she never stayed with her patients in labor... we stayed in the bathroom with her spraying her back with hot water and massaging her .... She couldn't believe the way we practiced nursing.... And, when I went to get the patient in hands and knees she said to me she has NEVER had a patient in that position. Ever. In that many years of nursing. Wow...
Well, I guess she learned a few new tricks from this younger nurse last night... Nice healthy 9 pound baby born direct OP!
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
MANA conference
So, I'm going to the Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA) conference in Canada in November. I'm excited!
In charge
Initially when my nurse supervisor asked me to take the role of charge nurse, I hesitated and said I didn't feel comfortable. Which is the truth. But, then I looked at my reasoning. Why? I like having my own patients and being involved in their care.... keeping busy and not worrying about everybody else. I didn't want to be in charge of all of the nurses. I didn't want to have "the buck stopping with me." If we have to transfer a patient to a higher level hospital.. it is me who would have to arrange for helicopter transfer, etc... If we have an emergency c-section, guess who has to call all of the appropriate people, make all the arrangements? If we don't have enough staff in the morning for the 2 section, induction and 2 leftover labor patients, guess who has to make it work?
But, then I realized it is my nurse manager who will be making referrals for me when I leave. And, if I balk at the chance to take on more responsibility, how will that look? So, I caved in. I told her I would be the charge nurse - ON occasion when no else is scheduled who usually does it. I've done it once so far... and we did have to transfer a patient in from another hospital and we did have an emergency cesarean section... both on my first night of being in charge... And, it wasn't so bad... I'm in charge again tonight... We'll see how it goes... But, if nothing else, it looks good on the resume, no? :)
But, then I realized it is my nurse manager who will be making referrals for me when I leave. And, if I balk at the chance to take on more responsibility, how will that look? So, I caved in. I told her I would be the charge nurse - ON occasion when no else is scheduled who usually does it. I've done it once so far... and we did have to transfer a patient in from another hospital and we did have an emergency cesarean section... both on my first night of being in charge... And, it wasn't so bad... I'm in charge again tonight... We'll see how it goes... But, if nothing else, it looks good on the resume, no? :)
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